Cinnamon & Triglycerides

by Michael R. Peluso, Ph.D.

Adding cinnamon to your diet may help to lower your blood triglycerides.

Cinnamon is an aromatic spice produced from the dried inner bark of small evergreen trees indigenous to China, India and Southeast Asia. The most common species are Ceylon cinnamon, or true cinnamon, and cassia cinnamon, or Chinese cinnamon. Although not all reports of human clinical trials with cinnamon agree, there is some evidence from human studies and supportive animal experiments suggesting that regular use of cinnamon can help to control your blood triglyceride levels.

Blood Triglycerides

Keeping your blood triglyceride levels below 150 milligrams per deciliter will reduce your risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Triglycerides are secreted into your blood as components of transport proteins called lipoproteins from two organs, your small intestine and liver. The main contributors to your fasting blood triglyceride level are the triglyceride-rich lipoproteins called very low-density lipoproteins, or VLDLs, that are secreted from your liver. To lower your blood triglycerides, it is important to decrease triglyceride synthesis and VLDL production in your liver.

Human Studies

There is clinical evidence that cinnamon could help lower your blood triglycerides. A review of five human clinical studies published in the January 2008 issue of “Diabetes Care” stated that there is no beneficial effect of cinnamon in patients with diabetes, but did report of an average blood triglyceride reduction of 28 milligrams per deciliter in subjects who consumed cinnamon. One of the studies included in this review found a 23 to 30 percent decrease in triglycerides in subjects who consumed 1 to 6 grams of cinnamon per day for 40 days. A separate study with diabetic patients found a 30 percent decrease in triglycerides with 1.5 grams of cinnamon powder per day for 60 days.

Supporting Experiments

If your blood triglyceride levels are somewhat elevated, there is additional support from animal experiments that suggest a plausible mechanism whereby cinnamon could help to lower your triglyceride numbers. Cinnamon may reduce the amount of triglycerides that are stored in your liver, which may be related to a decrease in triglyceride synthesis. A decrease in triglyceride synthesis could in turn reduce the packaging of triglycerides into lipoproteins that are secreted from your liver, which would tend to drive your blood triglyceride levels down.

Cinnamon Chemistry

The essential oil of cinnamon is rich in a compound called cinnamaldehyde; together they may be largely responsible for the triglyceride-lowering effect of cinnamon, as animal studies suggest. Cinnamaldehyde may work by activating an enzyme in your tissues called AMPK, which inhibits triglyceride synthesis. Use caution if you decide to add significant amounts of cinnamon to your diet. Cassia cinnamon, but not Ceylon cinnamon, contains a compound called coumarin, which may be toxic in some animal species, although its effect in people is unclear.

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About the Author

Michael Peluso is a semi-retired scientist in the field of nutritional biochemistry. He received his M.S. in nutrition from the University of California, Davis and Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of Missouri. Peluso's work has appeared in scholarly publications such as the "Journal of Nutrition," "Lipids" and "Experimental Biology and Medicine."

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